ThreeHundred AND SixtyFive
by findy0urself
Summary: What if Brooke had a glimpse into the future and realized every choice she made really did make a difference? What if she had 365 days to get her life back: what choices will she make? Will they be the right ones? BL, BP, PJ.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: **_This story is a little something that popped into my head one night as I thought about New Year's Eve. Keep an open mind, it's going to be really different. Please review and leave me your thoughts. I'd really appreciate some feedback._**

**_Oh, and I don't own One Tree Hill or any of its characters._**

_Three-Hundred_ _and Sixty-Five_

- Prologue -

_December 30th, 2006. _

It was the night before New Year's Eve and Brooke wasn't out shopping for the perfect New Year's Eve dress or browsing through the latest hairstyle magazines for the hottest up-do. Instead, she was in her room doing what she had been doing night after night for weeks now: thinking.

2006. Another year had passed, and consequently Brooke had ended up with less than she began with three hundred and sixty five days ago. Sitting by herself in her room, she was reminded of how alone she truly felt. This year had been unrelenting to her emotions, leaving her quite battered psychologically. Peyton, her best friend since they were in diapers, had betrayed their friendship by harboring secret feelings of love for her boyfriend, Lucas. Even though she was in love with Lucas, Peyton was truly the one who truly broke her heart. _Hoes over Bros, _Brooke always said. She meant it, but by lying, Peyton had destroyed her faith in the friendship they once she shared. She thought she could trust her, but trust was a funny thing. She should've been able to trust her _boyfriend_ as well, though running off to Peyton's every beck and call showed where his loyalty—and his heart—truly fell. He might've _told _her he loved her, but he never seemed to _show her. _He would've much rather protected Peyton's feelings than her own, and even weeks later, the entire situation still made her feel nauseous, made her heart to race with rage and sadness. He said he loved her, so what had happened? And where were the two people in the whole world who should've been there loving her all along and helping her through this? Her parents had been absent from her life for longer than she cared to consider. They might've been living with her, but they weren't aware of her presence and never bothered themselves to get to know her. 2006 was also the year Brooke officially moved out on her own. Due to job opportunities, her parents moved California and didn't bat an eyelash when she said she was going to move back home to Tree Hill. _They probably didn't even notice_, she thought, and another little piece of her died. To Brooke, 2006 could be summed up into one word: disappointment. She was so sick of being set-up for disappointment. She knew her heart couldn't take any more—it would surely break. She couldn't even look herself in the mirror without feeling such intense pain and confusion as to how things go to be this way, so instead of driving into town and spending money on an overly priced designer dress she was going to be responsible and attempt take control of her life. She was going to make this year count. Setting rules for herself seemed like the only way to change the unfortunate hand fate had dealt her these last few months. She never lived by the rules, and look what that had gotten her, only loneliness. In every way that mattered, she was alone and ready for a change—a drastic one at that. She was going to force herself to sit on her bed and write down three resolutions for the New Year, even if it killed her.

_New Year's Resolutions_, Brooke scribbled quickly on a crisp piece of paper. Her sparkly hot pink gel pen glided across the page with ease leaving behind a trail of loopy handwriting, as she made sure to put a heart above the letter "I", she stared at the paper. Biting on her lip, she paused, raising her pen from the page hesitantly. Taking an extended moment to think, her mind wandered to her empty nightstand where she once had several pictures of her and Peyton smiling happily into the camera. In place of them was stack of magazines. Setting her notebook down, Brooke leaned over the edge of the bed and pulled out a large shoebox which she was sure had belonged to Lucas at one point. Pulling it up onto the bed, Brooke lifted the cover. Reaching inside and pulling out a handful of pictures, she smiled faintly. The box held hundreds of pictures—hundreds of memories. All of them were shots of her and Peyton throughout their many years of friendship. She didn't have the heart to burn them. Even when she was beyond furious she hadn't been able to look at these pictures in months, and in all honesty she didn't realize how profoundly they'd impacted her.

Picking up one of her very favorites, she examined it slowly as she took in every last detail, even though she already had it memorized. It was taken on their first day of grade school. Peyton's blonde curls blew carelessly in the wind, while Brooke's dark locks were in two pigtails with pink bows tied around them. The two of them were holding hands and waiving happily into the camera. Their toothless smiles and short stature were reflections of their futures. Remembering that day, Brooke knew she wouldn't have gotten through it without Peyton. Brooke had been beyond frightened and worried about what the other kids would think about her. Her high self-esteem and unbreakable exterior hadn't always been a part of who she was. For a long time she had considered herself clumsy and awkward, but that never stopped Peyton from standing by her. She had held Brooke's hand and reassured her everything was going to be okay. She had been her family and her only support system.

Setting it aside, her eyes fell upon another. Laughing softly, she grazed her thumb across it. Two young girls, not a day past ten, their heads poking out of a home-made tent. An unsteady fortress of old blankets and worn out sheets shielded them from the world. A large pile of pillows served as further protection. Brooke recalled many instances where she and Peyton would hide from the world. It was always the two of them, together.

Now, looking at these pictures only left her with a bad taste in her mouth. She had hoped time would've healed her wounds, but it hadn't. She still felt betrayed, angry and hurt, even after time had passed. Reluctantly, Brooke placed the cover back on the box and slid it under the bed. _1) I will be able to have pictures of Peyton on my nightstand again._ Short but sweet. Brooke knew if she got to the point where she could stand to have pictures of Peyton be the last thing she saw at night, and not feel like throwing the picture across the room, she'd made headway. In reality, that's what she wanted most—her best friend. She wasn't sure if it was even possible, but she had to try again.

_Lies_, Brooke thought to herself. Unfortunately, the first thing to come to mind was Lucas. He had lied to her many times during their relationship, but the only thing Brooke knew he was right about was how he _was _the guy for her. Even though he had lied cheated and broken her heart twice, she still loved him. Even to this day, the first thought that crossed her mind when she opened her eyes was Lucas. Reaching behind her pillow, Brooke pulled out Lucas' hoodie. She adored the worn-out sweatshirt. It was the only piece of Lucas she had left. Holding the material to her chest, she closed her eyes. Memories of the two of them together flashed before her eyes. Not that it was hard for her to remember all of the good times she and Lucas had shared. For whatever reason, one moment in particular crossed her mind. It seemed like just yesterday.

_Slowly creeping into her bedroom, Lucas tried to be as quiet as he possibly could. _

"_I see it" Brooke called out to Lucas. Even though her back was to him, she called him on it. "It" being a two-shaded-pink bag, a bag that could only be from Victoria's Secret. _

_"Oh man! How do you DO that?!" Lucas laughed, throwing his hands in the air, the lingerie bag dangling from his fingers. _

"_Boyfriend, I keep Vicki's in business!" Brooke laughed. "Now let me see what you picked out for me!" Snatching the bag from his grasp, she jumped onto her bed and quickly threw aside the tissue paper that hid her gift. Pulling out a lacy red pair of boy shorts, Brooke pouted slightly. "No matching bra?_

_Laughing out loud, Lucas sat down next to her. "I liked the thought of you in JUST these…" _

_Brooke grinned, realizing he was right on the money. "Boyfriend, I taught you well." _

Opening her eyes and snapping back into reality, Brooke realized what her second resolution had to be. _2) I will give Lucas his hoodie back._ It seemed like an easy enough task, but Brooke knew it would be difficult and extremely painful for her. She would have to give him back the only piece of him she still possessed, which meant letting go of the past and moving on with the future. She had to hold on to the hope that Lucas was right, that he was the guy for her.

Casually flipping to the front of her notebook, a bright red envelope fell from its pages. Brooke's name and address was neatly written across the front, and in the upper left hand corner was a return address from California. Taking a deep breath and slowly sliding her finger underneath the seal, Brooke pulled out a Christmas card. A rather large stack of twenty-dollar bills cascaded into her lap. _Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad. _No personal greeting, no "Love", no "Please come home, Brooke". Cursing herself for not trusting her intuition to not open the card in the first place, Brooke sighed, tore it up and crinkled it into a giant ball. Throwing it into her trashcan, she wondered what she had ever done to deserve parents like hers, parents who didn't care about their child. Brooke could only assume they were disappointed in her and that was devastating. Allowing a few tears to fall from her eyes, Brooke quickly wiped her eyes and pulled herself together. _3) I will be the person I know I can be—a daughter any parents would be proud to call their own. _Even if her own parents weren't proud of her, she was going to strive to make _herself _proud.

Brooke smiled, feeling satisfied with her resolutions. Closing her notebook and setting it on her nightstand, she smoothed out her nightgown and set her alarm for the following morning. She had promised to help Rachel with the last minute touches for her New Year's Eve party tomorrow at eight. _As if working on this party all week hasn't been enough. Now I'm going to lose beauty sleep over it before the big day. She owes me_. Brooke cursed Rachel silently as she flipped her nightlight off and flopped down into bed. Pulling her comforter tightly around her body, Brooke said a silent prayer before drifting off to sleep: _Here's to hoping 2007 is an improvement on 2006_.


	2. One

Author's Note: **_And now the fun begins! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because I loved writing it! Reviews are always appreciated, as well as any other questions you may have._**

_Three-Hundred and Sixty-Five_

- Chapter 1 -

"Good morning Tree Hill! It's New Year's Eve, and all I can say is…who's ready to get trashed?!" A loud, prepubescent teen's voice blasted through the speakers of Brooke's alarm, ripping her out of a peaceful sleep.

"Uggghhh" Brooke groaned painfully, attempting to shut the radio off. Instead of reaching for the alarm, something else blocked her path. Her hand grazed a large frame, knocking it over. After two unsuccessful attempts with a lazy hand, the voice abruptly stopped. Keeping her eyes closed tightly shut, Brooke sighed heavily as she rolled on to her side. Shocked to feel another warm body in her bed, Brooke withdrew her hand abruptly and jumped up in bed. Rubbing her eyes and doing a double take, she was shocked by what she saw. Lucas Scott was in her bed, and she had no idea how he had gotten there. Somewhat instinctively peaking under the covers, she realized that she was completely naked. That's when panic officially set in. "Luke! Wake up!" Brooke yelled loudly, punching him in the shoulder. "This can't be happening…" Brooke mumbled under her breath as she stood up. Quickly wrapping her robe around her body she began to pace around the room anxiously, unsure of what to do next. "Get up NOW!" Brooke yelled, attempting to wake him by throwing a pillow at him. Lucas had answers, and she wanted them. She wanted them _now_.

"Just five more minutes, baby" Lucas whined as he nuzzled his face further into his pillow.

"First of all, don't call me baby!" Brooke huffed as marched over to her closet. "And second," Brooke held up two fingers, continuing to yell as she flung her closet door open, "you don't get five more minutes!" Quickly ripping a pair of jeans and a t-shirt off their assigned hangers, Brooke forcefully tugged the shirt over her head. As she pulled her hair out from underneath the white fabric, she suddenly noticed a new edition to her closet: a cap and gown were hung neatly behind her door. "What the…" Brooke spoke slowly as she lightly touched the white fabric. _How did this get here?_ She wasn't supposed to graduate for another four months, if she got her grades up to passing that was. _The gowns weren't expected in for at least another two months. Where did this come from?_ Out of the blue, a loud snore jarred Brooke from her endless stream of questions. _This must be some short of mistake_, she concluded as she let go of the ivory gown. Poking her head out from the closet, her voice was stern as she snapped back to reality and continued to shout orders at Lucas. "GET UP!" Realizing there was little to no response from him, Brooke groaned angrily. Jumping up and down as she attempted to pull her pants up, she only became more upset. She had tried to be nice, but nice had flown right out the window with whatever remaining sanity she had left. "What are you doing in my bed?" Brooke demanded, firmly resting her hands on her hips.

"Dreaming?" Lucas stated groggily. "Well, I was trying to dream…" Not finishing his sentence, he pulled the comforter over his head in one fluid motion.

"Oh, no you aren't!" Brooke huffed, stripping the comforter aggressively off of his body. "I will not have you having wet dreams about Peyton in my bed!" Lucas' only response was attempting to keep warm by curling up into the fetal position. "Lucas…" Brooke whined as she stomped her feet like a two year-old, "I just washed the sheets!"

"Well, after last night, you'll probably have to wash them again anyway…" Lucas kept his eyes closed shut, a smile played on his lips. "And Peyton is my friend, your _best friend_. Honestly, Brooke, I thought we had moved past all of this?"

Confused, Brooke did the only thing she could think of: she got mad. What kind of sick joke was he trying to pull? Why was he in her bed when he was dating Peyton? And as far as she knew, she and Peyton weren't even close to best-friend status. The entire situation confused her, but more than anything else, she wondered why she couldn't remember what had happened last night. Not one tiny, insignificant detail.

"Look, I don't know how you ended up here, or what I was drinking last night, but whatever it was, I can assure you I was out of my mind." Sighing heavily, Brooke sat down on the edge of the bed. "I wouldn't do this to Peyton, even if I was drunk" Brooke whispered, running her fingers through her hair.

"You were drunk—drunk on love," Lucas laughed as he reached for the comforter that had been flung to the floor.

"Oh, please" Brooke pretended to gag as she stood up and ripped the comforter from his grasp once again and threw it aside. "But now that you mention it, I do feel nauseous," Brooke stated loudly as she rolled her eyes. She wasn't lying. She suddenly didn't feel good. She felt guilty—really guilty, and she wasn't even sure why. She wondered how Peyton could've snuck around with Lucas behind her back and still been able to sleep at night. She knew she wouldn't have been able to. This was tearing her apart, and she wasn't even sure what "this" was!

"Hey, I know you didn't get much sleep last night," Lucas yawned, "but there's no need to be mean" Lucas responded sleepily as he sat up slowly in bed and continued to talk as he walked towards her. "It's your fault we didn't get any sleep last night anyway. You know, since you just couldn't get enough of me." A devious grin played on his lips as he continued, "Not that I'm complaining. I loved the after dinner workout. Oh, and before bed, and you did wake me up around four this morning if I remember correctly."

"What?" Brooke was taken aback by his words. What was he talking about? What had she done?

Walking over to her, Lucas forcefully grabbed Brooke's face in his large, strong hands and pulled her close to him. As Lucas kissed her passionately, she was stuck. No matter how much her head was screaming for him to stop, she couldn't. She felt like cement slabs were tied around her feet and she had lost control over her voice—all she could do was stand there. Stand there and enjoy it, of course. "Does that bring back any memories?" Lucas questioned, smiling from ear to ear as he broke away.

"I…I can't do this…" Brooke hesitated as she backed away from him slowly.

"What's going on?" Lucas questioned, hurt by her obvious rejection. "After last night…"

"After last night?" Brooke questioned, frustrated that she still couldn't remember anything. "Luke, I don't know what happened last night, but whatever it was, I'm sure it was a mistake." Brooke continued to pace.

"Brooke. Breathe." Lucas smiled, placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

Lifting his hands off of her, she sighed. "How can I? I can't do this, Luke. Not to Peyton—I won't do this to her" Brooke paused, looking up at him. His lightly tanned body was glistening in the morning sun. A checkered pair of boxers hung loosely from his hips. "Even if you do look good enough to eat standing there in next to nothing…" Brooke momentarily lost sight of her better judgment.

That's the only green-light Lucas needed. That was his cue. Moving in closer to her, he lightly kissed her lips once more. Pulling away, he curiously awaited a response—hopefully a positive one this time.

"What do you think you're doing?" Brooke gasped, shocked by the tingles the kiss sent up her spine.

"Kissing the love of my life?" Lucas answered honestly, looking down at her with sleepy blue eyes.

"Are you kidding me?" Brooke stepped back, hurt and stunned by his words. This joke had gone far enough. He didn't need to bring the "L word" into the mix. That was still far too painful and brought back memories that she wasn't ready to deal with.

"Okay…so I'm guessing that was the wrong answer" Lucas responded silently, scratching his head in confusion.

Brooke only laughed bitterly. "Look Luke, I don't know who put you up to this, but it's not funny anymore, and honestly, it's pretty cruel." Turning her face to avoid his piercing stare, she uttered three more words. "You should go."

"But Brooke—" Lucas interjected, stepping closer to her.

"Don't—" Brooke threw her hands up in the air, "Don't touch me. Go." Refusing to look him in the eyes, she pointed towards the door.

Realizing she was serious, Lucas shrugged his shoulders and began to pick up his clothes from the floor. They were wrinkled and thrown throughout the bedroom. Watching him quickly pick up his things, Brooke couldn't remember much of anything from last night, but she knew there wasn't any use in denying what had went on between the two of them: sex, lots of sex. Glancing down at the floor, she saw her favorite pair of black lacy panties. Blushing as she picked them up, she waited until Lucas wasn't looking and shoved them underneath her mattress. Had they really been together last night? All the signs pointed to yes.

"I'll call you later, hopefully you'll be in a better mood tonight" Lucas grumbled as he zipped up his pants.

"Tonight?" Brooke questioned against her intuition not to.

"Yeah, your parent's party. You three have only been planning it for weeks now." Lucas stated the obvious. A party with her parents? She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, and couldn't imagine working with them for weekends on end, but nodded in agreement anyway. At this point, she was sure that he would argue that the sky wasn't blue. It was useless to try.

Reaching for the doorknob, Lucas paused. "Brooke," he looked back at her, "for what it's worth, last night was incredible—this entire year has been great, really great" and with that, he was gone.

"This year?" Brooke asked aloud, wondering why her world had been turned upside down.


	3. Two

Author's Note: **_Not much to say about this chapter, it's pretty self explainatory. Enjoy!_**

_Three-Hundred and Sixty-Five_

- Chapter 2 -

Once Lucas left, Brooke looked around her room. It wasn't how she remembered it, not that she remembered much of anything this morning. Sighing heavily, she attempted to shake the spell that Lucas had set on her. She could still feel his fingertips on her skin, and smell just the slightest hint of his cologne lingering in the air, on her bed sheets, on her own clothes. Picking up her comforter from the floor, she smiled to herself as she remembered how sexy he looked cuddled up in her bed. His blonde hair was a complete mess from their obviously "rough" night. She wished she could've remembered _that_. Draping the blanket over her favorite chair, she began to strip the sheets form the bed. Pulling each pillow off one by one, as if she was searching for something—and she was—she quickly realized that Lucas' hoodie was gone. _It was right here last night...wasn't it? _Overcome by an unusually eerie feeling, she stepped back. _I wouldn't have…would I? _Shaking her head to erase the irrelevant thought from her mind, she continued to throw everything into her hamper. Out of the corner of her eye, Brooke was unable to ignore a rather large gold frame on her nightstand. It shone in the early morning sun, attracting her attention. After coming closer to get a better look, she picked it up and saw a picture of her and Peyton hugging tightly, their faces pressed up against each other as they grinned from ear to ear. In the bottom left hand corner was a date stamp. 10/31/2007. _Halloween? 2007? That must be a mistake. _Brooke questioned to herself as she brought the picture closer to her face. She quickly realized she was not wearing anything even closely resembling a devil costume. _What the—_Brooke thought, but was interrupted by someone barging into her room, without knocking.

"Hey B. Davis!" Peyton cheerfully bounced through Brooke's doorway, grinning from ear to ear. Without looking towards the door, Brooke quickly recognized her ex-best friend's voice. Her behavior, on the other hand, was so uncharacteristic of her norm that Brooke had to do her _second_ double-take of the day. It was unbelievable. Almost as unbelievable as the fact that Peyton was standing in her room and actually seemed _happy_.

Keeping her back towards the door, Brooke spoke calmly. "Peyton. Just when I thought my morning couldn't get any better, here you are." Brooke's voice dripped with sarcasm. Quickly placing the frame face down, she turned to face her.

"What's with the cold shoulder, bitchy?" Peyton joked, pulling Brooke against her will into an awkward hug.

"Well, witchy—" Brooke was about to give Peyton a piece of her mind or her fist, whichever came first, but suddenly noticed something much more important. "Holy crap! Take a look at that rock!" Grabbing Peyton's hand forcefully, Brooke gawked over the marquise-cut, well-over-one-karat diamond which was almost too bright to stare at.

Peyton only laughed. "Brooke, you've never been modest, but are you kidding me? You helped Jake pick this gaudy thing out!" Holding her hand out at arm's length, she examined the ring. "I can't say I'm complaining, though."

Brooke only stood there stunned. She couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her former best friend's mouth. She was engaged? To _Jake_? Could this morning get any more strange? Would psycho-bitch Nikki be the next person to show up at her door? Or maybe Chris Keller would magically appear in her bed tomorrow morning? Nothing seemed impossible anymore, and all she could do was laugh at the irony of it all.

"I know you're jealous. You know, since you've been planning your dream wedding since first-grade," Peyton smiled reminiscently, "but I'm sure Lucas will pop the question soon. Not that you have a single patient bone in your body."

With the mention of marriage and Lucas' name in the same sentence, Brooke's face suddenly lost all color, and she felt like there wasn't enough air in the room. "Peyton. This isn't funny. Seriously. If you ever cared about me at all, you'll stop this."

"What are you talking about?" Peyton questioned sincerely.

"Me, and…" Brooke's throat became dry at the mere mention of his name, "Lucas."

"Davis, I'm happy for you guys! I saw you two leaving together last night, and all I can say is, it's about time! You two have been miserable without each other. I was sick of hearing you two bitch and moan!"

"You're happy for us?" Brooke couldn't believe it. She figured it'd be a cold day in hell before Peyton ever truly supported her relationship with Lucas. To her surprise the day had come.

"Of course!"

"But what about you and Lucas?" Brooke wondered aloud, hope filling her voice. What could've happened to snap Peyton out of the spell Lucas had set on her? She couldn't help but feel a teeny-tiny bit excited the ball seemed to be back in her court. Not that she would ever admit it.

"Oh, Brooke, c'mon" Peyton sighed heavily, rolling her eyes, "we've been over this about seventy-six billion times!" Throwing her hands up in the air, she sat down on Brooke's bed, her bubble suddenly burst. "Lucas and I..." she began, "we're great friends, and we always will be, but there's no romance. The month we spent together last year was just—not what we thought it'd be. It was dull. There wasn't a spark or intense emotion...we weren't meant to be together like you two are." Brooke couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over her when she heard the word _friends_ come out of her mouth.

"Last year?" Brooke was beyond confused by this point.

"Yeah, you know, right after Lucas was in the hospital…" Looking over at Brooke, she realized her face was completely blank. "…after the championship game…" Peyton pushed, trying to help jog her memory.

At this point she realized she must be dreaming, but she was going to take full advantage of this illusion. "So it didn't work out with you two after all…" Brooke whispered under her breath.

"No, and honestly it was a Godsend. Getting accepted into Raleigh was the best thing that ever happened to me. I had the pleasure of groveling at Jake's feet to take me back." Laughing a little, she continued, "Nothing like a little begging and pleading to make you realize what an idiot you were." Peyton twirled her engagement band on her finger. "I love him, Brooke." Sitting down next to Peyton, she looked at her—really looked at her. She seemed extremely happy, and oddly enough, a smile crept onto her lips as well. Maybe it was the fact that in the dream world she was currently living in, she had her best friend back and a boyfriend waiting eagerly in the balances. She didn't know, and honestly, she didn't care.

"I'm happy for you, Peyton." Brooke answered honestly after the two shared a silent moment.

"I know, Brooke, you've told me." Peyton laughed as she stood up. "Now c'mon, we have to go pick up our dresses!"

"Dresses?" Brooke questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"Okay, this amnesia bit is really getting old. I think we've tried on every dress in Tree Hill. Do _not _tell me you've changed your mind. I don't think my body can handle being squeezed into anything else." After extending an arm to help Brooke up, Peyton headed for the door. "You coming?" Peyton questioned once she realized that Brooke hadn't followed her.

"Yeah" Brooke answered hesitantly, as she walked over to her nightstand. Picking up the picture of the two of them, she lightly grazed her fingers over the top of the frame as she set it back down. "I'm coming."


	4. Three

Author's Note:_ **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!**_

_Three-Hundred and Sixty-Five_

- Chapter 3 -

"So did you hear?" Peyton questioned as she applied a dark shade of red to her lips before smacking them together. Putting the final touches on her hair, Brooke looked over at Peyton through the mirror.

"Hear about what?"

"Jake asked Luke to be his best man" pausing slightly, Peyton bit her lip hesitant to continue with her thought.

"Peyton, spit it out" Brooke laughed. "Although, it is nice to have the broody-nobody-understands-me-Peyton back..."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Peyton mocked, but quickly went back to being serious. "Okay here goes…" Taking a deep breath, Peyton asked the question that had been burning inside of her ever since Jake had popped the big question. "I want you to be my maid of honor, Brooke."

Brooke was putting a light dusting of glitter on her eyes as Peyton dropped the question of the hour. She thought about her answer for a moment, but it wasn't because she didn't know the answer. She just couldn't believe she was so sure. "Of course I will, Peyton." And it was as simple as that.

"Really?" Peyton piped up excitedly, pulling her friend into a tight hug.

"You're going to ruin my hair!" Brooke squeaked as she pushed Peyton away playfully, bringing the curling iron to her hair to fix a few stray hairs that had escaped her immaculate up-do.

Peyton smiled, shaking her head. "You're really back, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Brooke questioned.

"It's just that lately…" Peyton began, but they were both interrupted by a light knock on the bathroom door.

"Are you two ready yet? We're going to be late!" Lucas' voice rang loud and clear through the solid wood door.

"Are you two naked? Because if you are, I'd be okay with that." Jake's voice chimed in.

Both of them erupted into a fit of laughter. "Wow, you really won the lotto with that one, P. Sawyer." Brooke smiled as she put the finishing touches on her makeup.

"It's been awhile since you called me that. P. Sawyer. I mean, I missed it." Smoothing her dress, Peyton sighed happily. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, friend. Now let's go turn some heads." Brooke grinned as she slowly opened the door.

* * *

"Brooke, you look…incredible…" Lucas repeated for the hundredth time that night. He was right, though. A tight, yet sophisticated black dress clung to her every curve. 

"I know" Brooke admitted, sending a cheeky grin his way.

"And this party turned out great." Lucas looked around the room, observing all of the decorations that hung delicately from the ceiling. "I know it must've been hard to work with your parents. I'm really proud of you." Lucas smiled back at her, pushing a stray curl out of her eyes.

"It's funny. They said the same thing." Brooke paused, reliving the moment, "...that they were proud of me."

"Lets dance" Lucas demanded as he pulled her onto the large dance floor. "I want the first dance of the New Year." Pulling her close, they swayed together to the soft music that blasted through the speakers.

As the two of them held each other close, Brooke savored the moment she was in. Taking in every laugh she heard, every aroma she smelled, every decoration she saw. The entire day had been beyond perfect—dream-like even. Resting her head on Lucas' shoulder, she had a clear shot of Jake and Peyton. As they stood by the punchbowl, Jake had obviously pulled out all the stops and his comedic antics were working. Peyton was laughing so hard tears were falling from her eyes. They were obviously insanely in love with each other. It had been so long since Brooke had seen her that happy, and as the lights dimmed, Brooke couldn't remember the last time _she _was this happy either.

_Ten. _Suddenly, everything became quiet as the countdown continued.

_Nine. _"It's been such a great year," Lucas whispered in Brooke's ear. A shiver shot up her spine as his breath grazed her earlobe.

_Eight. _Brooke fell silent. The night was coming to a close and she didn't want it to end, but she didn't know what to say. Why couldn't she form complete sentences? Why couldn't she make this her happily ever after?

_Seven. _"Yes, it has" she played along, saying what she knew he wanted to hear.

_Six._ Holding her at arms-length he spoke. "And it's all because of you."

_Five. _"Because you forgave me," he continued.

_Four. _"I still love you, Brooke" Lucas confessed, as his eyes penetrated her soul.

_Three. _Standing there, urging the three-little-words to come out of her mouth, she had no reply. She came up empty-handed in the moment of truth.

_Two. _Not getting the answer he wanted—needed even—he moved to plan B. "Kiss me" Lucas' voice was full of desire as he pulled Brooke's face close to his, and the distance between their lips shrunk.

_One. _Everything went black.

"I love you, too…" Brooke's raspy voice was masked by the alarm blaring.

"Good morning Tree Hill! It's New Year's Eve, and all I can say is…who's ready to get trashed?!"

To Brooke, the voice on the radio seemed even more abrasive the second time around. After silencing the early-morning headache inducer, she kept her eyes closed and prayed for a miracle. Inhaling to search for his smell, Brooke quickly realized Lucas was nowhere near her and that she had woken up from her fantasy, and in place of the man who should've been lying next to her, there was an empty cold spot.

"Nooo…" Brooke moaned and kicked her legs under the covers, wanting to go back to her dream, a dream where she was just about to kiss Lucas' soft lips. Hoping she still had the next best thing in her possession, she frantically sat up in bed. Clawing her way through her comforters, sheets, and pillows, she searched for Lucas' hoodie. It was exactly where she had left it—tucked neatly behind her pillow. Setting it aside, a light turned on in her head. _The picture. _Quickly looking over to her nightstand, she saw it—her notebook, her resolutions, but no picture. The picture had been a fabrication of her imagination, and she wanted nothing more than to go back to that dream. Slowly reaching for her notebook, she pulled it to her lap. Steadily grasping her pen in her hand, she made a giant "X" through the list. Underneath it, she simply wrote: _I will make my dreams come true_, and if she had anything to say about it, she would.


End file.
